Apple will reboot its maps app for iOS 8 when it reportedly launches later this year, a move that would be a part of an effort to better compete against Google and become a superior mapping platform.
Apple is working on a major maps overhaul for iOS by adding public transit directions and making key points of interest — such as airports, highways and so on — easier to find, according to 9to5Mac.
Maps in iOS 8 — which has a rumored codename of Okemo, after a ski resort in Vermont, a common theme for Apple’s internal code names — will also include data obtained in the recent acquisitions of BroadMap, Embark and HopStop.
In 2012, Apple replaced the existing Google Maps app with the rollout of its iOS 6 software. Shortly after launch, the Apple Maps app was widely criticized for omitting transit directions, providing poor navigation and displaying incomplete 3D views that distorted national monuments, such as the Eiffel Tower. Not to mention the broken roads and satellite views that displayed nothing but clouds.
When a Google Maps app came to iOS a few months later, many users made it their go-to mapping service on the iPhones. But since then, Apple has made big improvements to the platform and plans to enhance it even further.
If the report is true, Apple Maps in iOS 8 will also have public transit directions, which has been missing from the service since launch. This feature will come to cities such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles first and then grow to other regions. Users will also be able to select their departure dates and times within the new software.
In addition, iOS 8 is rumored to have a strong fitness focus. In fact, new iPhone hardware will reportedly be packed with intelligent sensors that can track your body’s movement and health status. Meanwhile, an app codenamed Healthbook will monitor fitness stats (from steps taken and calories burned) and keep track of blood pressure, heart rate and glucose levels.
The fitness monitoring apps will likely go head-to-head with wristband trackers like Nike+ Fuelband SE and the Fitbit Force, but having access to vital health data would be relatively new to smartphones.
Other features reportedly in the works (beyond iOS 8) are augmented reality functionality and indoor mapping views.
Source: Mashable
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